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Babel One
In the Romulan interference '' |image= |series= |production=40358-088 (412) |producer(s)= |story= |script= Mike Sussman and André Bormanis |director= David Straiton |imdbref=tt0572178 |guests=Jeffrey Combs as Commander Shran, Lee Arenberg as Tellarite Ambassador Gral, Molly Brink as Lieutenant Talas, J. Michael Flynn as Nijil, Brian Thompson as Admiral Valdore and Kevin Brief as Naarg |previous_production=Observer Effect |next_production=United |episode=ENT S04E12 |airdate=28 January 2005 |previous_release=Observer Effect |next_release=United |story_date(s)= 12 November 2154 |previous_story=Observer Effect |next_story=United }} Summary It is November 2154, and Captain Archer and Ensign Sato spend time preparing for the arrival of Ambassador Gral and the Tellarite delegation, by practicing being blunt, complaining, and arguing. En route to the trade summit on "Babel One", they detect a distress call from the Andorian warship, Kumari, now under attack. Enterprise alters its course to assist, and arrives to find Commander Shran, Lieutenant Talas, and 17 other survivors in escape-pods. Archer goes to meet him in Sickbay, and an angry Shran claims that both the Andorian Ambassador's and his ship were attacked and destroyed by a powerful Tellarite vessel. Scans of the debris indicate Tellarite weapon signatures, and recovered sensor data shows a Tellarite vessel firing. With both delegations on board, and accusations of duplicity rising between the groups, Archer considers taking the Andorians to their homeworld. At full warp, Enterprise is suddenly attacked by an Andorian ship. When attempts at communicating fail, Archer demands that Shran intervenes — he complies by explaining how to knock out its shields — but the attempt is ineffective. Enterprise is spared only when the attacking ship has to retreat because of a fluctuating power grid. T'Pol then notices that the "Andorian" and "Tellarite" ships have the same energy signature. Shran is unconvinced, and using Talas as a distraction, manages to escape and capture Gral, before order is restored. The alien vessel is then tracked, and it appears to be capable of holographically disguising itself. Commander Tucker, Lieutenant Malcolm Reed and several MACOs beam aboard the ship, only to find it deserted and without life support. Tucker and Reed become stranded when the vessel warps away, and make their way to an empty bridge. On Romulus, it is revealed that the ship is actually being controlled remotely by a group of Romulans (led by Admiral Valdore, a scientist called Nijil, and a virtual pilot) in an attempt to prevent a regional détente. Errors and Explanations # The Romulan prototype vessel looks nothing like a Romulan design. This could be deliberate, in order to disguise it's Romulan origins whenever the camouflage is deactivated. # It would be impossible to control a ship in real time across many light-years (it was mentioned in the episode that it was far outside their territory).The ship could be using a secure subspace link. # The Romulan city is akin to the one from Nemesis, but not like the one from TNG and DS9. Not everything has to be located in their capital. Nit Central # LUIGI NOVI on Friday, January 28, 2005 - 9:37 pm: What is the meaning of the word “One” in the episode’s title? Clayton Rumley on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 12:13 am: I assumed it was the name of the conference. Or did they explicitly state that the planet itself was called "Babel One" Anonymous on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 1:20 am: I took it as some sort of play on Babylon. Babylon, Babel One. Now, what that has to do with anything, I don't know, but that's all I could figure. Cybermortis on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 2:40 pm: It could mean one as in first - Meaning this is the first conference to take place there. # Is Hoshi’s description of Tellarite behavior in the opening scene of Act 1 something that was established in Journey to Babel (TOS), or did this episode establish it? I ask, because if it’s the latter, then the creators are ripping themselves off a bit, as the Zaldans from Coming of Age (TNG) were described this way too, as depicted in a scene in that episode where Wesley Crusher had to act obnoxious toward a Zaldan who was rude to him. Cybermortis on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 2:40 pm: Tellarite behaviour (they thrive on argument) was well established long before TNG was on air. I'm not sure if it was mentioned in any other episodes, but it has been in more than one guide. Its nice that for once the writers didn't change this. Zaldans are different to Tellarites in that they believe in saying what they think - to them being polite or diplomatic as humans understand the terms is just a form of lying. Tellarites just like to argue for the hell of it. # And if Tellarites supposedly act this way when first encountering people, why didn’t they act this way in Act 1 of Dead Stop? In that episode, they politely answered the crippled Enterprise’s distress signal by directing them to the repair station. Thande on Saturday, January 29, 2005 - 3:38 am: Maybe the Tellarite obnoxiousness thing is only socially required when meeting them in person/visually? I think the obnoxiousness was at least partially laid down in Journey to Babel, though I haven't seen it for a while. # Archer should order Tactical Alert (and possibly evasive maneuvers) the second Reed tells him at the end of Act 1 that he’s reading a power buildup in the Andorian ship tailing them. Instead, he allows the ship to fire on them, and then just turns to glare at Shran. When the show resumes with Act 2, he continues to this, allow the ship to repeatedly fire on the Enteprise and force it to impulse. Only after this happens does he order phase cannons armed and tell Shran to call them off. Dan Gunther on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 3:19 am: Well, he did order tactical alert during the commercial break (judging by the flashing red indicators along the upper wall of the bridge.) As far as firing on the ship goes, I guess he was looking for a diplomatic solution first and foremost. If it was me, however, I would have definitely returned fire after the second hit. :) LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 10:53 am: You don’t look for diplomatic solutions when a ship is firing on you, Dan. :) # dotter31 on Friday, January 28, 2005 - 9:56 pm: Do we know how many planets are between Babel and its Sun? Perhaps TPTB intended to say that Babel is the first planet from its sun (as scientifically unlikely as that is) and that was somehow dropped?(but the title stayed the same?) Thande on Saturday, January 29, 2005 - 3:38 am: Why is it scientifically unlikely? From gravitic observations we've now observed many planetary systems which are structured radically differently to ours (e.g. with Jupiter-sized planets at Mercury-like distances from their suns). # Sparrow47 on Saturday, January 29, 2005 - 10:38 am: Man, but that was a nice reveal at the end. I was preparing myself for an angst-filled scream when Trip and Reed got to the bridge, and then... surprise! Well done. Anonymous on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 1:20 am: I liked this ep a lot. Never saw the twist coming, and that's pretty rare for Trek. Speaking of the twist, could this be the new explanation for why Romulans are unseen until TOS? Maybe Romulans use remote ships in the war. That's a pretty neat trick. I bet it would cut down on their casualties! LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 10:53 am: Yeah, but it still wouldn’t explain why the war didn’t have warp drive. SeniramUK 16:53, December 11, 2018 (UTC) Perhaps the warp drive seen here was especially developed for the drones, and was not compatible with standard Romulan vessels until after the war. # Doesn't the Romulan ship with the holographic projectors seem a little... advanced to anyone else? Josh M on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 12:17 am: I don't know. We really don't know how advanced the Romulans are at this point. We know they have sophisticated cloaking technology, and their ship outgunned the Enterprise. They can't keep up with Warp 5.06. LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 10:53 am: We saw Vulcan holographic technology in The Forge – Kir'Shara arc. Holographic tech is probably an entirely different area from any of those though. LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 10:53 am: From weapons and propulsion, yeah, but not necessarily cloaks. The root technology is probably the same, since it manipulates light and energy to camouflage an object. # NGEN on Saturday, January 29, 2005 - 12:46 pm: Enterprise's creators have promised to bring back and focus on some of the elements of original Trek. With this episode (and a previous ep's Orion slave trading post), they've done so in a most appealing manner. This ep also reminded of ST:TNG's first season Lonely Among Us (with it's bickering ambassadors). One nit: I prefered the original makeup for the Tellerites in Journey to Babel. The makeup in this ep looks as if their skin has been removed and what we're looking at is exposed muscle. Perhaps this is how it was supposed to look! # T'Pol seemed reluctant to speculate on the mysterious craft. It almost seemed as if she feared it was a Vulcan craft. Fortunately, it later turned out to be Romulan. LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 10:53 am: No, she was reluctant to speculate on the function of the multispectral emitters, which we later found out in Act 4 were holographic projectors. # Influx on Saturday, January 29, 2005 - 4:12 pm: I doubt that simply magnetizing your boots would keep you safe with inertial dempeners off, although they might certainly keep you in place. Imagine riding a roller-coaster standing up with only a ski-boot-type attachment. Or else the evasive maneuvers were not that intense. The Undesirable Element on Saturday, January 29, 2005 - 9:34 pm: If a ship doesn't have inertial dampeners, wouldn't Trip and Reed have been turned into chunky salsa rather than slammed against the wall? These spaceships move pretty d@mn fast.Dan Gunther on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 6:47 pm: I wondered about this too. But then I thought that there had to be some kind of inertial dampening system, even if it's just a rudimentary one. If there were no inertial dampening whatsoever, one would think that the equipment and inner workings of the ship would be crushed when it went to warp. LUIGI NOVI on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 8:59 am: But Nijil stated that the inertial stabilizers were offline, and without any qualifier. He said this because Valdore wanted them to be offline, presumably because he wanted to try and kill Trip and Reed. If the equipment and circuitry of the ship had stabilizers separate from ones for humanoid passengers that would benefit the passengers just as well as the ones designed for the passengers, then, wouldn’t that defeat the whole purpose of what Valdore wanted to do? # The Undesirable Element on Saturday, January 29, 2005 - 9:34 pm: Why does Ambassador Gral care whether humans will side with Andorians? The Enterprise is only serving as the transport vessel. Shouldn't there be people on Babel that are mediating the conference? Or is the whole planet deserted? LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 10:53 am: Archer stated in the beginning of Act 1 that humans are mediating the trade dispute between them. # Shran balks at Archer for going after the Romulan ship instead of taking the Andorian survivors back to Andoria. I have to side with Shran here. The Enterprise has to be aware by now that the Romulan ship can overpower the Enterprise. A reasonable course of action is to drop off the survivors at Andoria and then go after the ship with Andorian reinforcements. Who cares if the trail goes cold. It seems reasonable that the Romulan ship will attack more targets. I can't imagine it would take that long to find them again. LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 10:53 am: Where does Shran complain about Archer going after the Romulan ship? I reviewed the episode, and didn’t find it. Josh M on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 12:18 pm: He doesn't really complain as much as object to Archer's course of action. After the first attack and T'Pol's discovery that the Andorian ship had an identical power signature to the Tellarite vessel that attacked Shran's ship, Archer decides to go after them. Shran objects saying that some of his crew is in bad condition and need to be treated on Andoria. As for going to Andoria, we don’t know how long it would take the Enterprise to go there and then resume their search for the Romulan ship, so how can you conclude that it would not take that long to find it again? Josh M on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 12:18 pm: Actually, Archer says that it will take four days to reach Andoria, and he believes that by then the ship's trail will be long gone. Shran seems to agree with this. If anything, the fact that it might attack more targets, and thus escalate tensions between the humans, Andorians, Tellarites (and maybe even Vulcans) is precisely why they have to prevent such further attacks. Who cares if the trail goes cold? Well, offhand, since Trip and Reed are trapped on it, I’d say Trip, Reed and Archer would. The Undesirable Element on Wednesday, February 02, 2005 - 12:52 pm: It happens near the beginning of the episode before Reed and Tucker get trapped on the ship. This is shortly after rescuing Shran's crew. They are on their way to Andoria when Archer says that he wants to go after the ship. Shran doesn't put up a huge fight, he just points out that he has injured crewmembers that need medical attention on Andoria. LUIGI NOVI on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 8:59 am: Got it. In my (revised) response to TUE’s question, I think that while reinforcements are a good idea, I think that Archer should care if the trail goes cold. There’s no reason to assume that the Romulan remote ship’s mission was anything other than the attack on the Kumari and the Enterprise, so we can’t say for certain that there would be more attacks. And if there would be, then that wouldn’t be a very sensible way to find it, since it would require allowing another victim to be attacked, without knowing if the Enterprise could get to it before it was destroyed. As for reinforcements, there’s no reason why the Enterprise needs to go to Andoria for them; they can merely be sent from Andoria to join the Enterprise in the search for that ship. This leaves only the matter of the Andorian crewmen in sickbay, and I don’t think it’s an unreasonable judgment call on Archer’s part to decide that finding that ship takes precedence over getting them home, since nothing established that Phlox’s abilities to treat the injured Andorians are inadequate, save for Shran’s skepticism about them, which was not clearly indicated to be substantiated. # TNG's Data's Day had the line, "Andorian marriages require groups of four unless..." It seems that Shran and Talas have an exclusive relationship so are we going to find out what the exception to the rule is? Or maybe they need to find two more people before they can get hitched. LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 10:53 am: Nothing indicated that they have an exclusive relationship. You’re also ignoring the fact that in order to have a group of four, you have begin with the first two. So even if it is just the two of them, they can presumably add another two. Or for all we know, Shran has two others, and Talas is the fourth. SeniramUK 16:53, December 11, 2018 (UTC) Maybe it’s Talas that has two others! # Josh M on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 12:17 am: I did love it when he mentioned his comment on T'Pol's bum years before. Why did Reed ask Tucker though? He told Tucker that it wasn't because Tucker had been in a relationship with T'Pol. Why would he ask? LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 10:53 am: Curiosity. Making conversation to alleviate the tension in a crisis situation. # When that MACO gets attacked by Shran and Talas, doesn't he have time to call for security? Why did he try and fight rather than calling for backup and then fighting? Did he feel that he had to focus on stopping Talas or something? LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 10:53 am: What do you mean “try and fight”? They were attacking him. What was he supposed to do, say to Shran and Talas, “Okay, gimme a second, guys, let me walk over to that comm. panel to call security, and then we’ll continue this, okay?”? :) Josh M on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 12:18 pm: I was thinking more along the lines of scrambling to the nearest commpanel or whipping out his communicator (assuming he gets to have one of those). LUIGI NOVI on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 8:59 am: Josh, he was in the process of being punched. How was he supposed to do this? He had to defend himself. Moreover, he’s a trained fighter against two opponents. Logically, he believed (and should believe) that he could handle them. # TJFleming on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 8:15 am: MACOs? We got MACOs aboard again? Or still? How come? And since when? (I thought they came on when Enterprise was dispatched from Earth to confront the Xindi. Have we seen them since that arc thankfully ended?) LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 10:53 am: At the end of Borderland. # LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 11:08 am: Did anyone else find it a bit odd that such a crucial and secretive military operation like the one Valdore is conducting is being done in a room high up in a tower in the Romulan capital with a large open window through which a spy or amateur tinkerer with a camera-equipped toy plane could see them? dotter31 on Sunday, January 30, 2005 - 12:43 pm: Where is it said that the Romulan operation is secret? It is called 'experimental' but I don't believe it was called secret. LUIGI NOVI on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 8:59 am: Aaron, obviously military operations like this one are going to be clandestine. It doesn’t have to be explicitly “called” secret in dialogue. What, you think the Romulan government broadcasts daily updates on their attempts to destabilize peace among the Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites, etc. on TV each morning? (Well, maybe if Geraldo was in charge of their media.) Even if it is secret, I don't see a problem with the headquarters of the operation being in the area of Romulus where it was. The area that the CGI image displays could be the government headquarters, and given the militaristic nature of Romulus it would stand to reason that such an area would be under heavy guard, keeping civilians away. I'm sure that the military people appreciate having nice, sunny offices :-) LUIGI NOVI on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 8:59 am: That does not make doing this wise. Even within the military and intelligence community there can be spies, and there are those who do not have the same level of clearance as everyone else. There’s nothing wrong with putting it in the capital, but it shouldn’t be up in a tower with a big window. The guards may keep civilians away on the ground. Do they keep away planes, kites, and balloons? Given the nature of the operation, I don't think they are too worried about alien (i.e. human) spies. By creating such remote technology they obviously hope to keep aliens a significant distance from Romulus. LUIGI NOVI on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 8:59 am: I wasn’t talking about humans. I was talking about Romulans. Think of the UFO aficionados and conspiracy theorists who camped out on the mountain ridges surrounding Area 51. ken on Wednesday, February 02, 2005 - 3:47 pm: About the windows in the building where the secret operation is--maybe they're tinted or something so people can't see what's really inside. They could also be tilted just a bit toward the ground, and any aircraft coming within a hundred miles gets shot down. # Keith Alan Morgan on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 3:16 am: Was the oxygen that Trip used to refill Malcolm & his air tanks liquid or not. The dialogue was vague enough to interpret it either way, but if it was liquid oxygen it would not be something one would want to refill an airtank with. LUIGI NOVI on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 6:11 am: I was thinking about that myself (I remembered that line by Kelly Preston in Spacecamp that indicated that humans could not breathe liquid oxygen), but wondered if their suits are designed to convert it and separate it from the other chemicals that would be poisonous to us. Or maybe the spacesuits store oxygen in liquid form. It would allow them to carry a far larger amount of oxygen. # Bildad on Thursday, February 03, 2005 - 12:24 pm: I'm a little surprised at the idea of a remote-controlled ship overpowering (albeit separately) both an Andorian warship and Enterprise. I mean, wow. While the surprise factor and its disguise as another vessel are major advantages, it still has to outgun, outmanuever, and/or outlast (shield/armor-wise) another warship A) in real time and B) while having a tiny tiny crew. (Real-time remote control over light-years. Incredible.) LUIGI NOVI on Monday, January 31, 2005 - 6:11 am: I'm not that surprised. A ship without a crew can devote all of its power to tactical systems, and doesn't require life support equipment. It would also be able to pull off manoeuvres that would kill or injure the crew...which is exactly what we see the drone ship do. Brian FitzGerald on Sunday, May 04, 2008 - 11:23 pm: That does make sense but than it brings up a nit, or at least something that always bugs me when they do these automated, self repairing armed ships that can out gun, out fight & outmaneuver our heroes on the regular star ships than why even have starships with large crews or at least why not have more of these automated ones to send into battle. Voyager's episode Dreadnought is another example of this. # Also-- and this may have been intentional-- the Romlan remotecraft didn't *look* Romulan. ken on Thursday, February 03, 2005 - 1:37 pm: Of course. Why shouldn't they use many different designs? During TNG's run I thought about the times it could have been an advantage for an alien race to use totally different designs for their ships. Category:Episodes Category:Enterprise